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VENDICATION 

OF 

UD&E ADVOCATE GENERAL HOLT, 

I.I 

FROM 

THE rOUL SLANDERS 

OF 

Traitors, their Aiders, Abettors, and Sympathizers, 



ACTING IN THE 



IlfTEREST OP JEFrERSON DAVIS. 



SIi:CO]NX> EDITION, . • 

COMPRISTNG THE DEPOSITIONS OF 

JOSEPH A. HOARE and WILLIAM H. ROBERTS, and tlie letters of Hon. 

JAMES F. WILSON, Chairman of the Judiciary Committtee; of Hous. 

GEO. L. BOUT WELL and D. MORRIS, members of 

said Committee, and of BVT. COL. TURNER, 

and of Hon. E. M. STANTON, 

Secretary of War. 




- .r 

^T?^ fit 



^ 



WASHINGTON, Sept. 4th, 18G6. 
To ALL Loyal Mek : 

In the name of simple justice— which is all that I claim from friend or foe-your 
attention is jespectfully invited to the suhjoined article from the Washington 
Chronicle of yesterday, as presenting a perfectly truthful vindication of myself from 
the attrocious calumny with which traitors, confessed perjurers, and suborners are 
now so basely pursuing me. HOLT 



When the minorliy report of Rogers upon destroy the reputation of a public officer whose 
the examination made bj the Judiciary Com- confldecce he gained, as we shall htreatter see, 
mittee into the testimony alleged to implicate by the most solemn protestations, and which 
Davis in the assassination of Prisident Lincoln confidence he afterward most treacherously 
was published, it was so shsmeless in its per- abused. The new feature in ihe operation ot 
versions and falsehoods and so malignantly these conspirators, whieb is now attraU'ng at- 
flanderous in its ton., that, in common with the tention, consists in the manufacture of various 
loyal press of the country, we treated the paper notes containing calumniatory allusions, with 
with the silence and contempt which it so well dates and averments, and insinuatiocs to suit, 
deserved. It was felt that neither public justije which purport to have passed between Conover 
nor the reputation of long-tried and lailbful and his suborned witnesses; and that Conover is 
officers of the Government could suffer from directly engaged in this guilty work is proved 
utterances so foul, made in the interest of the by the publication, in connec'ion with these 
rtbellioD, and under the inspiration of the re- notes, of letters addressed to himself by the 
lentless hate which traitors everywhere bear Judge Advocate General, and which could only 
toward all loyal and true men. The imputation have left his possession to be distoited and 
upon the integrity of the Judge Advocate Gene- used, as they have been, in furtherance of this 
ral and the Bureau of Military Justice was not conspiracy. We have now before us the Spring- 
indeed distinctly and broadly affirmed in this fieli HepubUcau of August 14, the New Yorli 
rtport, though it was again and again covtrllj Mir aid of An^ml 34, and the N^ational IntcUl- 
insinuated. Encouraged, however, by the silence ,;eK6v;r of ibe ."-ame date, in which the notes re- 
of the press-s and of Ju.^ge Holt, ibis imputa- ferred to ap,..ti.r. 

tion has now audaciously assumed a phase so These are one signed "M.," which beers date 

entirely novel and decided as to make it due to ^pfji 17^ iS66, and is addressed to Conovcr; one 

public opinion that some notice should be taken signed "William Gampbel'," and addressed to 

of it. Conover, dated "61. Alban8,Vt., Nov. 19, 1865;" 

It is clear that a conspiracy has been formed one by the same wuhout date; one signed '-Car- 

to defame the Judge Advocate General and the ter," addressed to Conover, and dated -Quar- 

Bureau of Military Justice, and to invoke upon termaster's Office, April 27, 1866;" one signed 

him and the testimony which has been die- "Joseph Snevil," addressed to Conover, under 

credited such a measure of popular condemna- date of "Westchester House, Nov. 14, 1865;" 

tion as, it is hoped, will give some support to one signed "S. Conover," addressed to Patten, 

the movement now so vigorously pressed for the under date of Ephrata Mountain House, Jane 

release of Davis. At the bottom of this con- S, 1866," There are also two brief letters from 

^piracy or actively engagea in executing its the Judge Advocate General to Conover, the 

purp ses, is Sanford Conover, who, afier hav- one dated March 17, 1866, and the other April 

incr been fully proved guilty of subornation ©f 26, 1866. 

peHurj has ULCiuestionably sold hi ms. It to the Now, with the exception of the two last- 

iriends of Davis, and is seeking with ihem to named letters of the Juu^e Advocate General, 



we pronounce all these notes sheer fabrications, 
manufactured and skilfully adjusted in date?, 
fciatements, intimations, etc., to suttain this in- 
famous raid on the character of the Bureau of 
Military Justice. To those thoroughly conver- 
sant with the history of the Conover testimony 
these papers furnish in themselves conclusive 
evidence of the spurioasnees with which we now 
tiraud them. The hand of Conover, who is as 
shrewd as he is criminal, is seen throughout in 
adroitly arranging feir suggestions, dates, &c., 
ai d placing them iu such juxtaposition to the 
letters of the Judge Advocate General as to seem 
to give to the latter a signification wholly dif- 
f rent from that intended by the writer. A 
more cold-blooded and devilish plot for the as- 
sassination of character has never been con- 
cocted in any age or country. It was a task 
meet fur self-contested perjurers and subornere; 
and zealously and faithfully are they keeping 
their faith with the traitors in whose service 
they are. 

We have not the time or space to point out in 
detail the internal proofs of the fabrication of 
those notes of Conover and his co-perjurers 
which the notes themselves furnish when 
viewed in their relation to surrounditg circum- 
stances, and must content ourselves with so me 
general observations corroborating our position. 
Take for example the note signed "Carter," 
and dated "Quartermaster's Oflice, April 27,. 
1866 ;" It is, in its every line and letter, an un, 
adulterated lie so far as Judge Holt is concerned 
and he so pronounces it. This man Carter was 
one of the witnesses produced by Conover, but 
Lc has not been sesn, communicated with, or 
even heard of, by Judge Holt since he gave his 
deposition on the 9th day of February, 1866 
Yet this note has been so fabricated, and placed 
in date and position, in such relation to Judge 
Holt's letter to Conover of 26th April, 1866, as 
to suggest a meaning entirely ditlerent from that 
jniendtd to be conveyed by its lauguuge. This 
letter was merely one of introduetion, borne by 
Colonel Turner, who was sent to New York for 
the wimesses. and was addroescd to Conover, 
who was supposed to kuow their whereabouts, 
with a view of inducing him to aid Colonel 
Turner in fludlug them ; and it was written be- 
fore there wan any <jrouiui known to t/ii: Judge 
Advocate General fur nuHpcctintj the frami ii'/iich 
had been practUed It was after Colonel Tur- 
ner's arrival In New York, and after his con- 
ference with the wituesH, Campbell, that the 
Bubornaiion of perjury committed by Conover 
was discovered. Anybody, afitr this slate- 
nieiit, by examining the note and Utter In their 
relation to each nthir as published, can see how 
Ingenious and yet how atroeions is the use 
which has been made uf them. This note, in 



its falsehood, as well as in the vile and stealthy 
purpose it has been made to serve, is a fair 
sample of the whole. 

Again, the letter of Judge Holt of the 17th 
March, 1S06, alluding to funds having been re- 
mitted to Conover for Campbell and Snevil, 
related to a small amount of money sect to meet 
the necessary expenses of these witnesses, who 
had been held by the authority of the Govern- 
ment, and with the understanding that their 
expenses shouUd be defrayed — which in goou 
faith was done, and properly done. Y'Jt, as it 
will be SCRU by looking at the publication as 
made, this letter is placed between two fabri- 
cated notes containing suggestions which were 
evidently prepared to give to its words an utterly 
unwarrantable and infamous import. Thus the 
web has been woven throughout by an lago 
spirit and cunning, but it crumbles into dust at 
the touch of honest truth. 

Whether, however, the notes of these conspi- 
rators have been manufactured for the occasic n 
— which we affirm as true beyond all question — 
or have been written at the times and by the 
persons they purport to have been written by, 
we declare, upon the authority of the Judge Ad- 
vocate General himself, that every word and 
sjllable they contain calling in question, directly 
or by implication or insinuation, the integrity of 
his action, or the sincerity and complete fair- 
ness of all he has done iu any connection, either 
with the witnesses produced by Conover before 
the Bureau of Military Justice, or the testimony 
given by them, are wholly and malignantly false. 
His conduct, vindicated as it is by documeutary 
evidence in the possession of the bureau, will 
abide any scrutiny to which it may be subjected 
by friend or foe. 

Having entered upon this subjec', we deem it 
but just to the public to give iu terms as brief 
as possible a summary of the history ot Con. 
over's agency, with its results, so far as it bears 
upon the aspersions spread before the country 
by the knot of conspirators and villains we are 
endeavoring to expose. We assert, therefore, 

First. That the inquiry iu which Conover was 
employed was not begun by the Judge Advocate 
General until he had received from this man dis- 
tinct and repeated written assurances of the ex- 
istence of testimony criminating Davis and 
others, and of his ability to procure it, and 
profTeriug his services to do so. Conover. 
though now wholly di'gr'\dtd, was then, so far 
8S known to the Government, without a stain 
upon his character, and the Judge Advocate 
General, as the head of the Bureau of Military 
Justice, would have been unfaithful to his duty 
had ho disregarded these assurances or taken 
action less ('irect and decided than he'jid. Hav- 
ing been eummuued as a witness. Judge Holt, 



on the 18th of June last, gave his sworn evi- 
dence before the Judiciary Comraittee of the 
House of Repreeentatives, and from this evi- 
dence we make the following extracts: 
I "In my previous testimony before the com- 
'jmlUee I stated that, from the knowledge derived 
..ifrom the trial of the assassins of the President 
■jof the apparent complicity of Davis, Clay, and 
i others in that crime, I felt it my duty to pursue 
'Uhe invftstigation further. I did so on the first 
');^oppoitunity that presented itself. That oppor- 
jtunity was found in the written asstirances of a 
J man known to me under the name of Sanford 
?Conover; and who, under this name, had given 
ii'iaiportant testimony on the trial of the assas- 
"jtins — testimony, however, which did not bear 
y rpou the question of the guilt of the parties on 
i irirtl as concerned in the actual murder of the 
'*] President, but related only to the general con- 
ispiracy charged to have been formed for the 
commission of that crime, to which it was 
alleged that Davis, Clay, and others were parties. 
"This man, it seems, had been a correspond- 
.^CDt of the New York Tribune from Canada; aud 
jj it. was through Mr. Gay, of the Tribune — a clti- 
iz<-n of well-known character for loyalty and in- 
I lesirity — that he was brought to the notice of the 
■ (Tovernment as an important witness. After he 
"had given his evidence on the trial of the asses- 
I bins, from his intelligence and apparently inli- 
' lUHte association with rebel refugees and con- 
spirators in Canada, I was satif fied that he had 
possessed unusual opportunities for acquiring 
iatormation in regard to their plans and move- 
ments. Hence, when he wrote me alleging the 
jl^jj existence of testimony implicating Davis and 
others, and his ability to find the witnesses, 
and proffering his services to ao so, I did not 
hesitate to accept his statements and proposals 
as made in good faith and entitled to credit and 
consideration. 

"The first letter which I received from him 
was wriiten from New York, and bore date the 
26th of July, 1865 This letter I have now in 
my hand for the examination of the committee. 
In it will be found all the details of the assur- 
ances to which I have just referred. The letter 
is as follows; 

"New York, July 26, 1865. 

^'Brigadier General Holt: 

"Dear Sir: Believing that I can procure wit- 
nesses and documentary evidence sufficient to 
convict Jeff, Davis and C. C. Clay of complicity 
in the aesaseination of the President, and that I 
can also find and secure John H. Surratt, I beg 
leave to tender the Government, through you, 
my services for these purposes. 

"Since my appearance as a witness before the 
commission, I have been engaged to some ex- 
tent, on my own account, in seeking further 
evidence to implicate Davis, Clay, and others ; 
and I feel warranted in saying that my efforts 
have not been without some success. I can 
promise to find at least three witnesses — men of 
unimpeachable character — who will testify that 
they submitted to Davis propositioBS, which he 
approved, to destroy the President, Vice Presi- 
dent, and Cabinet; and that they received in- 
directly from the rebel government money to 
enable them to execute the proposed scheme. 
Letters, I am assured by one of the parties re- 
ferred to, can he adduced to corroborate a part 
of their statements. 

"Two of these persons can testify that they 
were present with Surratt at an interview with 



Davis and Benjamin last spring, in which the 
plot under which Mr. Lincoln was assaesiDated 
was discussed and approved by both functiona- 
ries. 

"These men may be relied on. As I have al 
ready said, their character is unimpeachable. 
They despise and hate Davis now as inleusely 
as they once admired and laved him. Besides, 
they feel the necessity of doing some meritoii- 
ous action to insure the forgiveness and pardon 
of the Government they have outraged. 

"The interest I have manifested in this case 
has been prompted solely by a desire to serve 
the Government, though I must admit tbat it 
has been intensified by my hatred of the rebel 
leaders. The rebellion has ruined me tiuan- 
cially, and I have sufi'ered much at the hands of 
Davis & Co. It will be no fault of mine if they 
escape without their just deserts. 

"You may depend that I can and will, if de- 
sirable to you and the Government, accomplish 
all I promise, and more. 

"If it is not intended to try Davis and others 
for complicity in the assassination, I shall be 
glad to be sent after Surratt. I have ever be- 
lieved that I could find him, and I am confident 
that I can now devise a scheme for his capture. 
I do not enter into particulars because I know 
the value of your time too well to trouble you 
with a long letter. If the propositions I submit 
are entertained, I will call on \ou and be more 
explicit. 

•'Please favor me with a reply at once, and in 
the meantime, believe me to be your most obe- 
dient servant, Sanford Conover. 

"Direct in care of S. H. Gat, Tribune." 

On the 2d August thereafter another letter, if 
possible more earnest ena urgent in its tonci 
was wriiten to the Judge Advocate General by 
Conover, who, in consequence of these repre- 
sentations, was, after a conference with the 
Secretary ol War and with his assent, engaged 
as an agent of the Government to collect the 
testimony of the existence of which he claimed 
to have knowledge. He was occupied some six 
or seven months in the South, in the North, and 
in Canada, and from the various points he 
visited corresponded with Judge Holt, as did 
several of the witneeses. Tnis correspondence 
is preserved in the flies of the bureau, and es- 
tablishes beyond the possibility of question the 
perfect good faith with which the Judge Advo- 
cate General acted; and it also shows that, with 
the information thus communicated to him, 
and which he had no reason to distrust, he 
could not have done otherwise than continue 
the inquiry. 

Second. We aflirm that, instead of the Judge 
Advocate General having had any ground for 
suspecting the fraud while in progress, or hav- 
ing in any way sought to conceal it, he endeav- 
ored to have the testimony subjected to every 
possible test; and it was through Jiis own direct 
action that the crime which had been commit- 
ted was discovered, end that this horde of per- 
jurers was finally dragged to the light. After 
having, in his testimony before the Judiciary 
Committee, presented the original correspond- 



ence to which we have referred, and detiiled 
the circarastances under which the varions de- 
positions had been given, he concluded his evi- 
dtnca in the followinj; words: 

'•There was colbing in tce previous history of 
Sdn'ord Conover, as known to me, to excite 
any distrust, either in his integrity, in bis truth 
tulnefs, ur lu the sincerity wita wnich he nad 
made his propositious to the Government, that 
led to his being emp!o5ed as an aj^ent for the 
collection of the testimony which was suppos.-d 
to exist in reference to the assaft-inaiijn of the 
Preaident. On the contrary, there was much in 
Ri' intelligecce which wa^ marked and striking, 
and in his apparent frankness and his known 
CKnnection with important sources of informa 
tio'j, to inspire faith in his professions and 
promises. There was muGh also to inspire this 
faith io his correspondence with me, as already 
exhibited, while apparently cngagrd in the diffi- 
cult and responsible duly imposed upon him. 
That currrspondcuce was characterized by 
unusual intelligence, by great variety of detail, 
and bv a naturalness which seemed to protect it 
from criiicirm; and my contidence in the tesii- 
mony was strengthened by my knowledge that 
iL was in accord witb and seemed to be in a large 
decree a natural sequence from other facts which 
had been testified tu as having occurred in Can- 
ada, by witnesses known to the Government, 
anil ^hose r^pulaiiun has not been, and cannot, 
it is b-lieved, be successfully assailed. 

"U;>on ftie passage of the resolution of the 
Elouae !•( Representatives, appointing a com- 
lu'tee t > i- vestigaie and ascertain what testi- 
mony < sieved in regard to the complicity of 
L»»vi- '. il.-^ assassination of the President, I 
appeor > before this committee, in obedience to 
its su ii.uOiis, and gave my testimony, and pro 
diice.1 ii-fore it the depositions to which I have 
referred, together with the reports which I made, 
AU'i wnica reports, with the opinions Ihereiu 
expreeseil upon the questions involved, were 
based upon these depositions, and upon the other 
proufa therein presented and commented on ; 
upon which proofs thesa depositions were but 
cuoiulative, though ftronglj so. 

"Decided, however, as was my confidence in 
the tru'.hfulness of these depositions, I was not 
willing that the committee should accept my es- 
timate of them, or base any action of their own 
6olely on that estimate. Hence I urged — cer- 
laiuly the chairman and I think another member 
of the committee — that I should be direced or 
requested to bring before them the more im- 
poriaut of these witnesses produced by Conover, 
who were believed I) be within the reach of the 
Government, in order that by their crosscsami- 
nation, their bearing while testifying, and by 
Buch other tests a« they might be su-jjected lo, 
the cominittee should be enabled to determine 
for themselves what degree of credit their evl 
dcnce was entitled '.o. 

"Iq coneequetice of this suggestion of mine, 
and of Its having been repeated and urged, I re- 
ceived the dlr'-ciion of the Hon. .Mr. Wilson, 
chairman of the commUlee, to send for these 
•wiiuetit'S, or the more Impuriant of them. I ac- 
cordingly eeul Ui the city of New York Brevet 
Colonel Turner, Jadge advocate, giving him, as 
I U'l* rem-nibrr U, the names of Campbell, 
Bnevil, McGill, Wright, I'atten, and .Mrs. 
Doui;las«; the?e bilug the witnesses I had rea- 
son to believe might b? ol-t«lned within a rea- 
■ooable lime. It Is barely possible thai the 



name of Patten was not embraced in this list, 
owing to ms supposing him to reside in Sainl 
Louis; but the m:!6t impartsnt of the witnesses 
were certainly included. Colonel Turner, on 
proceeding to New York, had an interview with 
Campbell, who has repeatedly been referred to 
by me; and iu a conversation with Cjlonel Tur- 
ner, Campbell declared that the testimony 
which he had given iu his depositioa before the 
Bureau of Military Justice was false, and that 
it had been fabricated by or under the super- 
vision of Sanford Conover. This I learned from 
Colonel Turner, and I learned he made the same 
statement at the same time in regard to the 
testimony of Snevil, and expressed me opinion 
that the other witnesses who had b:en prodaced 
by Conover had also sworn falsely and under 
assumed names. Colonel Turner brought 
Campbell on to Washington, and I then sug- 
gested that Mr. Wilson, chairman of the com- 
mittee, should telegraph for Conover, ia order 
that he and Campbell might be confronted in 
their examination, and opportunity thus af- 
forded the committee of determining the question 
of credibility at issue. Conover accordingly 
came and went before the committee, and while 
undergoing examination there, Campbell was 
introduv'ed, and having been sworn, he stated 
that his deposition given before the Bareau of 
Military Justice was false in all respects, and 
was wholly and completely the fabrication of 
Conover, who then being present replied, under 
oath, that this declaration of Campoeli was tin- 
true, but declined to offer any explanation. 
After, however, Campbell had been withdrawn, 
Conover suggested to the committee as a reason 
why he (Campbell) had made his statement 
that he bad probably been corrupted, and sup- 
plied he could make more by falsifying his for- 
mer testimony than he could by sustaining it. 

"I said to Conover, immediately after his ex 
amination closed, that I was utterly astounded 
at the evidence Campbell had given. His reply 
was, "You cannot be more so than I am."' { 
then added: "You see the position in whicayou 
are placed; now, if what is enlarged against you 
is false, your only mode of vindicaiioa is to 
bring before the committee the witnesses whom 
you produced, and whose depositions were taken 
before the Bureau of Military Justice, in order 
that they may be examined and reaffirm their 
testimony." He said he would proceed lo New 
York with the officer of the committee, and as- 
sist him In finding the witnesses; and would, as 
I understood him lo say, return with them to 
Washington. He left, as I was told, with the 
officer of the committee; but on arriving at 
New York separated himself from him, and 
was not seen by him afterward; and up to thl" 
time he has not communicated with me, nor has 
he made any effort, as I believe, to produce the 
witnesses, nor has he offered any vindication ot 
bis conduct. 

" This action of his, added to the declarations 
under oath of C*mpTell, followed ud. as they 
were afterward, by the testimony of Snevil as 
to the utter fal.-lty of the depositions whicti h'^ 
and Campbell had given, left on my mind a 
strong impression than Conover had b-;eu guilty 
of a most atrocious crime, committed under 
what promptings I am wholly unable to deter 
mine. 1 employed him under no contract for 
any stipulated compensation. He had no rea5-)n 
from mo to b-lkve that he would receive more 
for his labor In the event of his suc'^ess than in 
the event of bis failure to discover the testimony 



which he alleged existed; nor had he authority 
to give to the witnesses any other assurance 
than that they should not be personally compro- 
mised Dy speaking the truth. He only had 
reason to believe, and was so assured, that all 
expenses would be paid and that a fair com- 
pensation for the services performed — both in 
view of their importance and of the extreme 
danger to which it was supposed they might 
espo?e him — would be made, but nothing be- 
yond this. 

" Although but two of the witnesses, to wit : 
William Campbell and Joseph Snevil, have been 
found and produced, and have declared the 
falsity of their depositions ; yet, considering 
the conduct of this agent of the Government as 
exposed and explained, it is believed that the 
tame discredit which seems to attach to these 
two depositions of Campbell and Snevel should 
attach to all the depositions given by the wit- 
nesses brought to the Bureau of Military Justice 
for examinaiioQ by Cocover; and I would there- 
fore suggest, unless the grounds for discreditiug 
these depositions be in some way removed, that 
all that testimony be withdrawn from the con- 
sideration of the committee. The witnesses 
whose depositions under this view would be 
withdrawn are the following: Joha McGill, 
William Campbell, Joseph Snevil, Farnham B. 
Wright, Sarah Douglass, Mary Knapp, W. H. 
Carter, and John H. Patten. 

" I append hereto, as a part of this my depo- 
sition, otficial copies of all the letters and tele- 
grams of Sanford Conover and others hereto- 
fore rt-ftrred to, the whole being marked 
' Exhibits to the deposition of J. Holt, Judge 
Advocate General.' 

'■ I deem it proper to remark (which possibly 
I may in eflect. have done previously) that I cod- 
'erred freely with these witnesses, before and 
while examining them; that they appeared to 
possess the ordinary amount of intelligence, and 
certainly assumed perfect self-possession and 
frankness of manner, and seemed to be, so far 
&< I c.iuld judge, under no improper influence; 
«nri there was nothing either in the testimony 
which they gave — regarded in the light of other 
evidence in possession of the Government, and 
which has not been successfully conirovertftd — 
or in their manner while deposing calculated in 
any degree to excite doubt as to their truthful- 
ness ; and I did not at any time question the 
biiicerity and honesty with which they were 
speaking. The disclosure made by Campbell to 
Colonel Turner was the first intimation which I 
had received of the shameless fraud which, it is 
alleged by two of the witnesses, has been com- 
initied upon the Government by Conover." 

It will b3 observed, by reference to the report 
of the Judiciary Committee, that, ia accordance 
with the view above expressed by Judge Holt, 
they gave to the Conover testimony no conside- 
roiioQ whatever. After having given this evi- 
dence, the Ju<3ga Advocate General made an 
elaborate report to the Secretary of War, present- 
iriir 3 full history of Conover's agency, and de- 
claring the testimony introduced by him to be 
discredited; and formally withdrew all the deposi- 
ti'^ns fro^ the cor.eideration of the Governmenf 

Third. While a wily and profligate endeavor is 
made, through the fabricated notes of which we 
have spoken, to create the impression that large 



sums of money have been bestowed upon these 
perjured witnesses and their suborner, Conover- 
with a view to, or as a reward for, their corrup. 
tion, this, like every other vile insinuation con, 
tained in the papers, is utterly false. We are 
authorized by the Judge Advocate General to 
say that nothing beyond what was deemed ne. 
cessary to meet the actual and reasonable ex. 
penses of these witnesses was paid them. They 
were long held by the Government, awaiting the 
trial which it was anticipated might be ordered 
in the cases of Davis, Clay, &c., and while thus 
waiting their expenses were properly met by the 
Government ; and this was ia accordance with 
the rule pursued in many other cases— a rule 
often absolutely essential to maintain the in- 
terests of public justice. As to Conover, his ex- 
penses were also paid, and he was allowed, in 
addition, what was regarded as a just compen 
sation for his services during the six or seven 
months during which his agency for the bureau 
continued, and no more. All averments or 11- 
sinuations that a dollar was ever paid to these 
men for any other than the purposes mentioned 
are wholly untrue. 

Thus is exposed the true nature of this elabo- 
rate but transparent conspiracy, which, in aim- 
ing to serve and to save the chief of the traitors, 
has not hesitated to attempt to overthrow the 
official character of the Judge Advocate Gene- 
ral. And while this attempt must, of coarse, 
be as fruitless as it has been desperatr, the en- 
deavor of the conspirators to protect Davis from 
the charge of complicity in the assassination of 
President Lincoln must be alike in vain. It is 
true that that portion of the testimony brought 
forward by Conover is at this time discredited; 
and the friends of Divis, in the confusion raised 
by their outcry against the Judge Advocate 
General, would hope to have it understood that 
this is all the material testimony upon which 
the charge is based. But, in point of fact, it is 
but one branch of the body of proof which has 
accumulated in the case. Long before the pro- 
duction of the testimony in question atribuDal, 
composed of officers of the first rank and intel- 
ligence, had, after the fullest investigation, and 
upon proof which has not been, and, it is 
believed, cannot, be assailed, pronounced 
the head of the rebellion gnilttj of the 
Clime which crowned its infamous his- 
tory. Since then other and equally reliable 
evidence has been presented ; and the Ju- 
diciary Committee of the House of Repre- 
sentative?, in whose report it in set forth, have 
declared, upon an examination of this and the 
previous proofs, and excluding from their con- 
sideration that now discrcdittd, that "there is 
probable cause to believe that he (Davis) was 
privy to the measures which led to the commie- 



8 



sion oftbe deed." This verdict has been ac- 
cepted by the great mass of thoughtful aud 
loyal men throughout the country, and cauDOt 
but, we are assured, bpcome the deliberate con- 
clusion of history. Atd the present attempt to 
do away with the jadgmect which has been 
passed upon Davis as an assassin, by seeliing 
to malie the impression that that judgment rests 
solely or largely upon the testimony produced by 
Conover, and thus interpose a cloud of doubt 
and uncertainty before the mass of proof which 
remains uulmpeached, must, we are persuaded, 
be readily comprcbended, and everjwhere ex- 
posed and denounced. We affirm, as ourcou- 
clndiug remark, tha this judgment, long since 
formtd, is based in no degree on thlsttsiimony, 
which was never given to the country nutil dis- 
credited, but that it has for its founda' ion a vo- 
lume of evidence, documentary and otherwise, 
in the possession of the Government, which has 
not been coutroverted, but which, standing as it 
does, intact, points to Davis as involved in the 
assassination of the President, with "ihe slow, 
nnmovlng finger" of a condemnation which no 
clamors, however loud or frantic, of traitors aud 
their sympathizers, can shake or disturb. 

The following is the letter of August 3, re 
ferred to in the foregolog article : 

New York, August 3, 1863, [1865.] 
General : I proposed by letter a few days ago 
to And, for the good of the Government and 
people, John H. Surratt, one of ihe conspirators, 
and to produce unimpeachable evidence tufH- 
cient to convict Davis, Clay, and o'.hers of com- 
plicity in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln. 

I solicited, indeed expected, an early reply, 
but was disappointed. Surratt; has since been 
captured, (so the papers say,) so that, of course, 
my services in that direction will not be required. 
Probably you have also sufficient evidence to 
convict Davi'i, Clay, ct al., without the testi- 
mony—I should eay evidence— I proposed to 
adduce, the witnesses I proposed to produce, and 
the facts that you could educe under my sugges- 
tion .'"rom certain disloyalisis. 

If it i.i all so I'm glad. But will you not ba 
kind enough, on receipt hereof, to inform mabu 
telajropfi, directed to Fifth Avenue Hotel, whether 
or not I can be of further service to the Govern- 
ment. 

If I cannot be of further service 1 propose to 
go to Mexico: and my lastday if youdonotdesire 
more of me, In New York, wii: bo next Friday 
Btiturday. 

I hope I can be of further service. I more 
than hope that I shall hear from you (by tele- 
graph) before Saturday. If I do not I shall as- 
bumu that I can be of no further service, and 
act accordingly. Your obedient servant, 

BANFOUD CONOVEIt. 

Brigadier General Holt, Judge Advocate Gene- 
ral, Washington, U. C. 

1>. g, — This l8 the fourth letter that I have 
wrlit-!n you without having received a reply. I 
do tiucerely hope that I may receive an answer 
to Ibis. If not to those that preceded It. 

RcBpcctfuUy, 8. C. 



War Department, 
Bureau of Military Justice. 
Washington, November 24, 18C6 
To ALL Loyal Men : In a former vindication 
of myself which appeared in the Washington 
Chronicle of 3d of September, and was adopted 
by me as "perfectly truthful," extracts from my 
deposition before the Judiciary Committee of the 
House of Representatives were given as present- 
ing a clear and succinct hi.'tory of the '-Conover 
testimony," and of my relation to it.. As a part, 
of that history was also furnished the letter of 
Conover to me, which led to his employmfrnt by 
the Government, end in which he gave distinci 
assurar ces as to the existence of evidence impli- 
cating Davis and others in the assassination of the 
President, and declared his ability to produce the 
witnesses, and made an offer of his services to 
do so. Iq that vindication it was also allegtd 
that— wiih the exception of my own brief notes 
to Conover, and which in themselves afforded 
no color of imputation against me— all the letters 
and notes which had been published by the New 
York Bcrahl, and afterward by other paper.-, ai^d 
which had been made the basis of an arraiK,u 
men: of my official integrity, were forged and 
their statements utterly false. It was further 
affirmed "that nothing beyond what was deemed 
necessary to meet the actual and reasonable ex- 
penses of these witnesses was paid thetii; that 
ibey were long held by the Government awaiting 
the trial which it was anticipated might be 
ordered in the cases of Davis, Clay, &c., and 
while thus waiting their expenses were properly 
met by the Government, and that this was in 
accordance with the rule pursued in many other 
cases— a rule often absolutely essential to main- 
tain the Interests of public justice." Since the 
date of that vindication proofs have been taken in 
support of its most important averments, 
and they are now submitted as unanswerable 
evidence of the malignity and foulness with 
which I have been traduced. Protesting against 
being condemned without having buen first 
heard, I respectfully ask that thefe proofs, which 
■will speak for themselves, may be read and eou- 
eidered by all who are willing to know the truth. 
The genuineness of my own brief business 
notes to Conover, so far as published, has never 
been denied, but has been constantly admitted. 
Their language allows of no construction to my 
prejudice, and they have been jTcssed into the 
service of these conspirators only through the 
forged letters with which they surrounded them 
for the purpose of perverting and destroying 
their true meaning. I say they are genuine, so 
fur as pnblhhcd, because I know not what forged 
notes or letters purporting to be mine may now 
be in the hands of this horde of villains, or may 
hereafter be fabricated by them for nse against 
m'J. 



9 



As the forged letters, &c., referred to — and 
vfhich ha'-e Deeo ruode the ground of calumui- 
ous accnsetJoDS against me in eonnection -ivith 
the "CoEover testimony" — all first appeared as 
original matter in the New York Herald, which 
continurd their publication, with opprobrious 
imputBt.ione on inyt-elf, after they had been pro- 
nounced to be spurious; and as that journal tas 
declared thai it is ' ia no way indebted to Cono- 
ver for thtee documeDi8," and as Conover him- 
self — by «hom or lu wn"ra they purport to hitve 
been written — utterly icpuJi.i -^: laem, ic mu#t, 
in the a*>seDce of explaoatioD or disclaimer, be 
held thftt the New Toik Herald and its rebel 
coadjutors are directly responsible for their 
fabrication, and for theslai.derous and infamous 
use which has been made of them. 

That falsehood, though guided by thesbrcA'd- 
est of scoundrels, is sure, sooner or later, to 
trip. Is sbown by the fact that these conspira 
tors made Conover seem to write me from 
Philadelphia, on the 13th of December, 18C5, a 
long anfi critBiDaiive letter, whereas, in truth, 
88 is proved by a lelegri»[ihic despatch from him 
on file in the Bureau ot Military Justice, he was 
then at Montreal, Canada, and commnnicated 
with me (m that very day from that point. 

Attention is iuvited to the statement of the 
wifnp.op, Joseph A. Hoare, that after he gave 
ills Uep.ipition I introduced him to the Presi- 
dent, to whom the deposition was read,apd that 
the President, as well as Secretaries Seward and 
Stanton, who were present, conversed with him 
in regard to the remarkable statements it con- 
tained. This is mentioned as es^idence that in 
taking and collecting this testimony no con- 
cealment was practised. On the contrary, the 
deposiiions, as taken, without exception, were 
at once commuuicated to the Secretary of War, 
and bj him to the Presidei.t and Cabinet, so that 
the exit-tenue and character of these depositions 
were as well known to these high officials as to 
myself, and if any of them expressed distrust of 
the entire truthfulness of the testimony — which 
then stood wholly unimpeached— I have not 
been able after diligent inquiry to ascertain it. 
Feeling myself entitled to it under the articles 
of war, I made a formal written demand through 
Secretary St*ntoa for a court of inquiry, with a 
view to s judicial examination of all the charges 
which have been made against me, alike in con- 
nection with the "Conover testimony" and the 
trial of the assassins of the President. lu my 
letter to the Secretary I said : 

"As these accusations— utterly false and 
groundless as T pronounce them to be, and as 
they are believed to be known to those who gave 
them utterance to be — are of the gravest im- 
port, and directly call in question my oflicial 
integrity, and must, if credited, destroy all con- 
fidence in me as a public officer, and ia the bu- 
reau over which I preside, it seems to be a solemn 



duty on the part of the Government to 
have them investigated, and a record ot the 
truth made. My cfficial'honor and thst of this 
bureau, as well as that ot the military service 
with which i am connected, imperatively de- 
mand this. 1 Seek and challenge the severest 
scrutiny of my officujl conduct in all the matters 
to which these atrocious accusations relate 
which can be iostiluted in the interests ot tiuth 
and justice. 

"I therefore respectfully but earnestly ask ihat 
under ibe articles of war a court of inquiry, 
comporeO of officers of high rank and national 
reputiitioa, be appoir.ted, vihose duty ii shall o«j 
to thoroughly examine each and al! of iraid 
cbariLc--^ as preferred agaiust me, and thai said 
court ^hall be required not merely to repoit the 
facts, bat to give their opinion on the mirits of 
the case." 

By rtfereiice to the letter of the Secretsry of 
Warit willbeseen that the President hasdwlincd 
to order this court, alleging thdt he •'■deema itun- 
nccesmry for my vindication,'''' This action of 
the President must be accepted as a fail reeotini- 
tiou oa his part of the groundlessness of these 
accusations, and nec-ssarily of the bas-euess of 
those who have made them. Bu. while tbis is 
so, I cannot but regret that the court was xnX 
0!!^ered, since 1 believe that the public honor, 
deeply involved ia my official action, would 
have btcn best guarded, as would have been my 
own, by muking, as could easily havp, het^u done, 
thr-ough sworn and U'limpeacbahle testimony, 
such a record of alt the proceedings and conduct 
impeached as would have silenced forever the 
poisoned tongues alike of open traitors a^d of 
ttiosB renegade Unionists who, ignobly crouch- 
ing before the still living spirit of the late re- 
bellion, are seeking favor and power by abjectly 
pandeiicg to its resentments. But whilethus pre- 
vented from making my defence under circum 
stances which cu'd not have failed to command 
the public confidence, I uive no fears for the 
issue. The truth, of which I sought to make a 
judicial record, is mightier than all its enemies 
combined, and though it may be and often is 
slow, it is ever sure in the end to assert iis 
mastery over falsehood and fraud. 

From the moment I entered on my present 
position the Secretary of War has had continual 
and thorough knowledge of my official cosduct, 
and a loyal people will not hesitate to give to 
his language in my behalf the weight to which 
it is so justly entitled. Such words, so emphatic 
and honorable to me, and prompted by so com- 
plete a comprehension of my action, and uttered 
by such a man and such a patriot as, amid the 
sublime labors and responsibilities and perils of 
the limes, Edwin M. Stanton has proved him- 
self to be, may be safely poised in my defence 
against all the curses and fetid vituperation 
which can come from the rebel throat— tt a*- 
open sepulchre of defamation — from now until 
doomsday. 



10 



It is nrt proposed— for I too well understatd 
how hopeless would be the effort — to correct the 
mendacious habits of the V7icked mcsj who 
cuiijed these calumnies against me, or who have 
been and are still industrlGusly engaged in 
giving them circulation. So far as they are 
concerned, I simply aim yet further to expose 
and blacken their guilt before the world by aug- 
menting, through conclusive proofs, the light 
of that truth against which they have offended 
and still delight to offend; and having done 
this, to leave them under the brand of puolic 
scorn to pursue, as they doubtless will, the lie 
tuey malie and love, and which seems to be at 
once the aliment and the banquet of their lives. 
Tbis vindication, therefore, be it understood, is 
not at all offered to traitors here or elsewhere, 
their aiders, abettors, or sympathizers; nor is it 
made wiih any hope or desire of convincing or 
conciliating them — for by my loyalty and faith- 
fulness to duly I have long since earned their 
eppeaseless hate, and I spurn and defy it — but 
it is offered to the honest and true everj where, 
who, though they may feel no interest in my 
own fate, will nevertheless, I am sure, feel an 
enduring interest in the protection of those 
principles of justice and loyalty, honor and fair 
dealing, which are the safeguards of every man's 
life and reputation, and which have been so 
sliameleesly violated in my person. 

J. Holt, 
Judge Advocate General. 

I Frooi the New York llerald of Sept. 26, ISGG. 1 
Wak Department, 
Bureau of Military Justice, 
WAsnixoTON, D. C, September 32, 18C6. 
Mr. James Oordon Bennett : 

Sir: In the Washington correspondence of 
N<;w Turk Herald of yesterday are found two 
letters, one purporting to have been written to 
mjself by 8. Conover, under date of "Philadel- 
phia, December 13, 1805," and the other stuted 
to have been enclosed in the former, and i)ur- 
pfirting to have been written by M. N. Harris co 
' Friend Conover," under date of "IIarritt)urg, 
!)• cember 11, 1865," which letters are otFert-d in 
.li.i.urt of an atrocious calumny heretofore 
puolibhed against me bv thi^ same correspondent, 
and from which ii)\ ■vindication" has appeared 
In the CniitiMCLE of this city and other journals; 
end I am now "challenged to deny the gennine- 
ii"j and truthfulness of these letters." 

la reply, 1 ritclare that until I saw thesi' let- 
ters in the Jferald of yesterday I had nevrr ween 
or heard of them, or of either of them, or ol their 
coultul^; nor were these letters or eUtie-r of 
them, or the subject matter of either, or ibe 
man Harris, ever alluded to by Conover in his 
correfip(jndence, or in any of his uume'oiis per- 
sonal coulerences with me. 1 pronouuei' iliem, 
ilii-refore, to bis base fabricatioui>, made tor t.he 
jiurpose of adjustment to my note to Conover 
under dale of 15',h December, IfSCS, wiiii n vt.-w 
i)f giving tu Ihal nolo a totally uuwarriuinble 
bigQiUcation. That note la alleged by your cor- 
rtf [londent to have been written in reply to Con- 
ovci'd prclonded letter to me of "Philadelphia, 



13ih December, 1865;" which allegation is 
wholly untrue. This note of mine, on the con- 
trary, was in answer to a telegraphic communi- 
cation — called, it seems, by me, a "letter"— sent 
to me by Conover from Montreal, under date of 
"13th of December, 1865," in which it was 
stated that he was there with three very impor- 
tant witnesses and expecting another, and re- 
quired more funds, and asking a remittance, 
and the S150 mentioned in my note was enc.osed 
to him to meet the necessary expenses in bring- 
ing inese four witnesses, with himself, to 
Washington. Neither the note itself nor the 
remittance had any other object than this, ex- 
cept the simple ouc uf urging his speedy return 
to VVashington. 

Thus the stale artifice heretofore exposed and 
denounced of manufacturiBg letters and notes 
for the purpose of adjusting them to my own 
brief communications, in order to change their 
import, is here revived, and this audacious work 
will Eo doubt be continued so Istng as the public 
shall show itself sufficiently credulous or gullible 
to give to these forged papers credit or consider- 
ation. I cannot but believe the American peo- 
ple too sensible and loo honest to be the dupe of 
a trick so shallow and shameless. All imputa- 
tions calling in question the strict integrity of 
my official action in any connection with the 
"Conover testimony," as it is termed, which 
may arise out of these papers, or from any other 
publication or source whatever, I pronounce 
malignantly false in their every intendment and 
implication. 

You will do me an act of simple justice by 
giving the foregoing a place in your columns. 
J. Holt, Judge Advocate rJeiuTBl 

Deposition of Joseph A. Iloare, taken ai tue 
office of Colonel Turner, judge advocate, VVash- 
ington, D. C, October IS, 1860: 
District of Columbia, WusJUngton City, ss. 

Joseph A. Hoare, beicg duly sworn, deposes 
as follows: 

Question. Did you give your deposition before 
the Judge Advocate General in Wasbington, D. 
C, and if so, when, and in relation to wUai mat- 
ter? 

Ans'ser. I gave my deposition at the office of 
the Judge Advocate General, Washingt ju, D. 
C, November 4, 1S65, relative to tbe assossina- 
liou of President Lincoln and the alleged com- 
plieiiy of Jefferson Davis and others therein; 
and I gave it in the name of Willirtm Campbell. 

Q. Were you examined as a witness before 
the Judiciary Committee of the House of liepre- 
sentatives; if so, when, and the sutject ina-ter 
thereof? 

A. 1 was examined as a witness before said 
committee on the 8th day of May, A. D. 1866, 
and I then and there swore that tbe deposition 
I had made at the oflice of the Judge Advocate 
General, November 4, 1S65, was entirely false, 
and that the substance of it was fabricated b) a 
man by ihe assumed name of"Sautord Cono- 
ver," but whose real name is Charles A. Dan- 
ham; and I now swear that said deposition was 
and is lalse, and was fabricated by said Cono- 
ver, hrt above stated, and committed to iiiemory 
by mjself, as \irepared tiy him — though not 
given to the Judge Advocate General precisely 
in the language prepared by Conover — a rluiugo 
la the lanuuage Iteiuir caused by the quisiiuns 
propounded by the Judge Advocate General. 

Q. Within two or iliree months there has 
appeared in tbe New York Herald, A'aiional 
Intelligencer, and other papers, two letters pur- 



11 



porting to have been written by youreelf, in the 
name of "William Campbell," to Sar.forii Con- 
over, of which letterp, as published, the follow- 
ing are copies, i'he first letter is as followi^: 
"St. Albans, Vt., November 19, 1865. 

"I have just parted with the party I thought 
would do to represent Lamar. He will go into 
the game and swear all that is wanted, but he 
places his price at a pretty high figure. He 
wants S3,000, and says he won't sell his soul for 
less. You told me not to go above $1,500, 
but the judge told me afterward that, if neces- 
sary. I couid go -SoCO more. But even this is 
far below tbe mark. What am I to do? I have 
wtilttn the judge how the matter stands, and I 
hope you will urge him to come to the terms. 
Dick is a good fellow, and we can depend on 
him without fear, and he has the faculty liars 
need mott— a mighty good memory. I hope to 
receive a meseage from you to-morrow telling 
me to strike the bargain. At any rate let me 
know how to act as soon as possible. 

"William Campbell." 

Tbe copy of the second letter published is as 
follows: 

"Dear Sik: I have been trying to see you for 
several days, but hear that you are out of town. 
I bhall leave this at station A, that you may get 
it as soon as you return. I am in great need of 
more money; my last investments did not pay, 
and I am dead broke, and so is Snevil. The 
judge told me when I last saw him to communi- 
cate with him only through you, atd I don't 
like to write him; but I must have money in a 
few days. Get him to send me $500, for nothing 
less will be of any use to me. I wish I could 
get in hulk alt 1 am to receive, and then I 
could get into safer business; but I suppose you 
are all afraid that if you should give me all in 
my hands at once I could not be found when 
most wanted. I don't like to be suspected, but 
anything is better than bting poor, so 1 will 
take what I can get, but of course not less than 
$500. Don't keep me waiting, for God's sake, 
'or I shall hardly be able to raise cocktails and 
cigars till I hear from you. 

"Truly yours, William Campbell." 

State wnethtr the said letters, or either of 
them, were or was written by yourself. 

A. I did not write either of them, and they 
are forgeries, and wholly and entirely false in 
every particular. 

Q. Were you in St. Albans, Vermont, in No- 
vember, 1865; and if so, on what business? 

A. I was in St. Albans in November, 1865, 
under an engagement with the Judge Advi cate 
General, to find a witness by the name of Limar. 
Sanford Conover and myself had represetited to 
the Judge Advocate General that said Lamar 
was in Canada, and that I could find him; and 
hence I was sent to get him. I wrote to the 
Judge Advocate General from St. Albaus on the 
IStli or November, 1865, stating the progress I 
had madein finding Lamar, and had n(^t jet suc- 
ceeded in finding him. I went from St. Albans 
to Boston, and wrote again to '.he Judge Advo- 
cate General, from that city, Novembi-r 29, 
1865, in which I stated that Lamar bad been 
found, and that be and mvself might be expected 
in Washington the latter part of the week there- 
after. I further swear that I knew no mau by 
the name of Lamar, and that, the fraud was 
practised upon the Judge Advocate General by 
the instigation and procurement of Sanford 
Conover. 

Q. Was the deposition you gave at the office 



of the Judge Advocate General, November 4, 
1865, written out precisely as given by you? 

A. The deposition was written out by the 
Judge Advocate correctly, as stated to him 
by me. 

Q. When you gave said deposition, or after, 
did you in any way intimate to the Judge Advo- 
cate General that your deposition was not true? 

A. I did not; and I gave him no reason to 
donbt the integrity of my action. 

Q. Will you state whether the money paid you 
from time to lime was more than enough to pay 
your expenses during the time you were held as 
a witness by the Government? 

A. I regarded myse'.f held as a witness six or 
seven months; also as an agent; and the amount 
I received did not exceed §650, which was not, 
more than my expenses, including my jour- 
ney to St. Albans and Boston, and Washington 
twice. 

Q. Had you or not frequent conversations 
with Conover about the witnesses he was pro- 
curing to go before the Bureau of Military Jus- 
tice ? 

A. I had. 

Q Ttiere has appeared in the New York Herald 
and other papers a letter purporting to have been 
written by S. Conover to Judge Advocate Gene- 
ral Holt, uuder date of "Philadelphia, December 
13, 1865," and which letter professed to have 
enclosed in it a letter from M. N. Harris to 
" friend Conover," under date of "Harrisburg, 
December 11, 1865," which letters the Judge 
Advocate General has denounced as forgeries. 
Now, will you state whether or not, iu your con- 
versations with Conover, he ever mentioned the 
name of M. N. Harris, or that he was ever en- 
gaged in getting lebiimaiiy at Philadelphia or 
Harris burg? 

A. Conover never spoke to me about any man 
by the name of M. N. Harris, and I know no 
such person, and I never knew of his being in 
Philadelphia or Harrisburg to obr.ain testimony. 
The letter referred to of December 13, 18G5, is 
before me, as published in the New York 
Herald, and the following is a copy: 

"Philadelphia, December 13, 1S65 

"General: I am glad to be able to report 
that I have succeeded beyond my expectations. 
Besides the parties I had in view, we can cnunt 
on two, and perhaps four, others, who will tes- 
tify to all tbat may be required. After securiRg 
Harris, who will prove the most important wit- 
ness we have yet had, he assured me that he 
had several friends in Harrisburg win ni n*- v- a-i 
confident would aFSist us, and as the expense 
would !'Ot be great, I deemed it advisable to de- 
spatch him at OGce to confer with them. He is 
discreet and shrewd, and no fears netd be enter- 
tained of his blundering. I receivt-.d a hit r 
from him this morning, which I enclose, and 
this afternoon I shall set out lo ixainim- tfie 
parties he refers to. If satisfied that they will 
answer our purpose, I shall, as soon as lean get 
them thoroughly posted, cnmi- fn with t'lem. 
I am fearful, if we engage all rbat Wir batf»- in 
hand, that my funds will not hold out. fott.»t, 
you had better send me $1C0 more, to be used, 
if needed. 

"Direct your Utter simply to Ptiiladelphia. as 
I put up from time to time where I find it inoft 
convenient to keep track of the witnessts al- 
ready in hand. 

"Kespecifully, your obedient serwant, 

"S. CONOVBK. 

"Brigadier General Holt, Judge Advocate Gen- 
eral." 



12 



Q. Where, in point of fact, was Sanfurd 
Couover on the 13ih of Dececubtr, 1SC5? 

A. According to my bei-t knowledge and in- 
forruation h« was od that day in Canada ; and I 
have now before me a telegraphic despaicU from 
said CoDDVer lo the. Judge Advocate Gentral, 
dated " Montreal, Dfcembt;r 13, 1865," froai 
•which it appears that on the day he pretended 
to have written to the Judge Advocate General 
from Philadelphia, he was, in fact, iu Montreal, 
Canada. 

Q. After you gave your deposition before the 
Judge Advocate General, did he or noi accom- 
pany jou to the President of the United sStaie:-, 
and introduce you lo him, and also to the Secre- 
tary of State, Mr. Seward, and, it eo, ttate 
what occurred at that interview ? 

A. He did; and after I had been iutroductd he 
read my deposition to the President and Mr. 
Seward, and then the President and Mr. Seward 
conversed with me relative to the statements the 
deposiion contained. During this interview the 
Sticretary of War, who was then preset)!, also 
addressed some questions to me relative to my 
deposition. J. A Hoake. 

Swim and subscribed at Washington, D. C, 
this 16th day of October, 1866, before me, 
Geo C. Thomas, 
Notary Public. 

Depot-iiioii of William H. Roberts, taken at 
the cffi:e of Colonel Turner, judge advocate, 
Washington city, October 18, 1866: 

William H. Roberts, being duly sworn, de- 
poses 88 follows: 

Qui-stiou. Did you at any time give your de- 
position at the oflic'w of the Judge Advocate 
General, in Washington, D. C, aod if so, in re- 
lation to what matter? 

Answer. 1 did uive my deposition b' fore the 
Judge Advocate Gfueral on the fourth day of 
November 1865, relative to the assassin ai ion of 
Piesideijt Lincoln and the alleged complicity of 
Jetfersou Davis and others therein. I gave said 
deposition iu the name of "Joseph Snevil," 
and at the same lime that Jo.^eph A Iloare, 
alias "Campbell," gave his. I fuitlu r say that 
afterward, in the month of May, 1806, I was 
examined as a witni.ss before the Juoiciary 
Committee of the House of Ropr-eseniatives, 
having been duly subpoenaed to ai'etjd, and 
ttien atjd there, being duly sworn, I testitied 
that the ( eposition given by u;e before the 
Judge Advocate General on the fourtti day of 
Novembtr, 1865, was wholly and entirely false, 
and that the same was fabricated by a iierson 
who assumed the name of "Saufurd Couover," 
but whose real name is Charles A. Di.nhaui, 
and I now reileratt^ that said deposition was and 
Is lalf-e, and was, in us substance, fabricated by 
Bhld Dunham, alias "Cmiover." The said 
Dunham wrote out what he desired me to swear 
to, and J commiitid the same to memory from 
bis mariuccript, and tljeu repeated the same 
(though not precisely in the same language) 
subslanllaliy as my deposiiiuir in rejily to the 
questions asked by the Jitdge Advocate Gtue- 
ral. The said mar'Ufccrlj't I bad iir my pot-ses- 
sion Eome time altirward, and linally I gavii it 
up to said Dunham, alias Ci>iiover, and at his 
Kfiueat. I had said manuscript In my pocket at 
llic, lime I gave my deposition, but I did not ex- 
hibit It or refi.r t) It while at the oUlce of the 
Judge Advocate (jerreral in any way. I further 
Btale that my de]>06iliou was given iu answer lo 
questiouH addreBsed lo mo by the Judge Advo- 



cate General, and that my answers to said ques- 
tions were correctly written down by biro. 

Q. How long a time did you consider your- 
self held as a witness by the '->nvernment? 

A. Between six and seven months. 

Q. What amount of money was paid you by 
the Government or its agents? 

A. Not exceeding the sum of four hundred 
dollars, which was really noi; enough to meet 
my expsnses during the lime. The understand- 
ing was with the agent of the Government that 
my expenses should be paid, which to this time 
has not been done. 

Q. In the New York Herald of August 24, 
1866, and snbsfquently in other papers, there 
appeared a letter purporting to have been writ- 
ten by yon under the name of "Joseph Snevil," 
to Sanford Couover, of date "New York, No- 
vember 14, 1865," of which the following is'a 
copy, as published: 

"Westcuesthr House, 
"New Yokk, November 14, 1865. 
"J//*. Sanford Conover : 

"Deah Siu: I have been looking for more 
than a week for the $500 draft promised me 
from you or the jadae, but have beeu disap- 
pointed. I doti't think I have been treated ex- 
actly on the square, for Campbell has had more 
by nearly §1,000 than I have, and yet I stretched 
my conscience just as much ss he did, and my 
testimony, as jou and the judge both said, was 
just as important as his. 

"I don't like to find fault, but I like still less 
to b(g or to borrow, as I am obliged to, from 
Campbell, when I ought to be just as well olf 
as he. 

"I don't mean t6 complain, for I know you 
have much to attend to, and can't do everything 
at once, but as all the rest have been better paid 
than myself I ough' not to be forgot. 

"Please do not fail to send draft by return 
mail, for you know this is an awful place to be 
without money, and your petitioner will ever 
pray. Respeolfully, yours, 

"Joseph Snevil." 

Now, will yon state if said letter was written 
by yourself, or noi? 

A. I did not write said letter; it is a forgery, 
and all its statements are false 

Q Have you had frequent conversations wif.h 
"Couover" abr.ut the witnesses he was pro- 
curing fir the Government? 

A. 1 had conversations with him often. 

Q Did your ever bear him mention the name 
of M. N. flarris, and did you know or ever hear 
of Conovir's being engaged iu Philadelphia or 
Harri^burg in looking up witnesses? 

A. Conover iu his frequent conversations with 
me never uienlioutd any jierson by ihe iiaure of 
M. N. Harris, and I have no knowledge that 
Conover w;ii evir in Philadtlpbis or Harrisburg 
in search of witnesses, and I am conlidi nt that 
l( he had been there he would have told me. 

Q. While giving yciur deposition before the 
Judge Advoculo General, or at any other lime 
while held as a witness, did you communicate 
or inlimate. lo him in anywise ihat your deposi- 
tion was not truthful, or did you make any com- 
munication to thtt Judge Advocate General from 
which ho could have suspected the truthfulness 
of your testimony or integrity of yourcharacier? 

A. I ilid not, and I gave no intimation to any 
ollici-r of the Governiiiout that said deposition 
was false until I disclosed it to Colonel Turner, 
judge advocate, in the month of May, 1866. who 
was sent to New York by the Judiciary Com- 



13 



mlitoe of the House to procure the attendance 
of witnesses. W. H. Roberts. 

[G. C. T , October 18, 1866] 
Ssvora and eubscribed at Washicj^ion, D. C, 
this 18th Octubtr, 1866, before me, 

Geo. G. Thomas, 
Notary Public. 

Letter from Hon. James F. Wilson, chairman 
of the Jadiciary Committee of the House of 
Representatives : 

Fairfield, Iowa, September 39, 186G. 

My Dear Sir : On my return home from a 
canvass of my district, I received your favor of 
the 7th inst. 

I am not surprised at the attack made on you 
by the friends of Jtfferson Davis, for they will 
spare no pains to shield him from ihe pi'nalty 
of his great crime. But I know that ther^ is 
no just t^round upon which to base, sncti attacks. 

In the discharge of my official duties relative 
to the charge of complicity in the plot to destroy 
the life of President Lincoln, made against 
Davis and others in the proclamation of Piesi- 
dent Johnson, I acquired personal kaowltdge of 
your whole course of action concerning the case. 

After the House of Representatives had di- 
rected the Committee on the Judiciary to investi- 
gate the charge made by President Johnson in 
said proclamation against Davis and others, ynu 
manifested the utmost solicitude in favor of a 
thorough sifting of all the testimony in the pos- 
session of the Bureau of Military Justice, and 
especially that which had been collected through 
the instrumentality of Sanford-Cono^er. Tou 
earnestly urged the committee to send for the 
witnesses whose depositions you had taken in 
the Conover branch of the case, notwithstand- 
ing those depositions seemed fair, truthful, and 
no suspicion had been cast upon them. 

The committee not knowing where said wit- 
nesses could be found, you proposed to send 
Colonel Turner to New York city in order t.) 
discover the whereabouts of the witnesses and 
to procure their attendance. Tour propo?ition 
was approved by the committee, and Colonel 
Turner visited New York. His visit and inves- 
tigation led to a suspicion that Conover had 
practised a fraud upon the aulhoritits. This 
only increased your earnestness in asking for a 
complete sifting of the testimony given by the 
witnesses procured by Conover. A plan was 
agreed upon by a part of the committee and 
yourself to have Conover confronted bHtuie the 
committee by one of his most important wit- 
nesses. This plan was carried out. and resulted 
in discrediting the Conover branch of the case. 
No one more promptly recognized this fact than 
yourself, and you so stated, and advised the 
withdrawal from the consideration of the com- 
mittee of the testimony of all the witnesses 
procured by Conover. The report of the com- 
mittee in no sense rests upon the t^etioiooy of 
these witnesses — that testimony was wholly dis- 
regarded. 

Tour action in this matter was most fair and 
impartial, and afforded satisfactory evidence that 
3 our only desire in the premises was to arrive 
at the truih. I wish the whole country could be 
as well informed of your conduct in this regard 
as is the Committee on the Judiciary — you would 
need no other defence. Tours, truly, 

James F. Wilson, 
Hon. Joseph Holt, Washington, D. C. 
Letters from Hons. George S. Boutwrll aud 



D. Morris, members of the Judiciary Com- 
miiiee of the House of Representatives: 

Groton, Mass , September 13, 1866. 

Sir: I nave observed the studied atiHropts 
making by the friends of Jeft'erson Davis t;) 
injare your reputation by imputing to you im- 
proper conduct in ynnr efforts to afceriain ibe 
truth and bring to justico all those who wt-re 
concerned in tne aseaseinalion of Freei'i«nt Lin- 
coln. As a mt^mber of the Judiciary Couiuittee 
of the House of Rtpresentatives I had know- 
It-diie of all the proceedings, aud I can hi-ar ready 
ttuc! full testimony to your disinterested, im- 
partial, and paliiotic services in aid ot justice, 
ll is true that certain witnesses who deposed 
before you afterward reiractid their statement", 
but the evidence is conclusive that you believed 
their original statements to be true, and tha' if 
they were false you were the party Oecuved. 

The commiUee bad ample oppiriunities ti 
witness your conduct and bearing, and [ am 
persuaded that, wiih the exception of Mr. 
Rogers, all approved and justified your conduct 
in every particular, I have no doubi that tne 
machinations of your enemies will fail signally, 
as surely they ought to fail. 

I am, very truly, Geo 8 Boftwell. 

Hon. Joseph Holt, Washington, D C. 

Penn Tan, N. Y-, October 15, 1866. 
Colonel E. W. Dennis: 

My Dear Sir: Tours of the 3d of September 
ult., wi(h the enclosed article from t'le Wsfh- 
ington Chronicle, came to baud during my 
absence, and by accident it was mislaid. It. 
has just come to my attention, and I tiasten lo 
reply, that the article from the CuROisiCLB, as 
far as my knowledge is coijcerned, is acctaifti*. 

I think I was with the Jurticiary Coujiiiiuee at 
each meeting when Judge Arivocat.r HoU was 
present. I noticed, and remarked to ixierabers 
of the committee at the time, that Judge Holt 
evinced a candor and a patriotism equal lo any- 
thing I had ever witiessed. His actions aud 
assertions evinced a desire to elicit the truth 
and only the truth. He was willing and appa- 
rently anxious to aid the commiitee in the in- 
vestigation, and he did it in a way that inspired 
in me the profoundest respect. I sincerely hope 
that the Government may ever he favoreo with 
a judge advocate as intelligent, disinterested for 
self, and as vigilant to promote the interests of 
the Government, and develop the truth, as^was 
manifested by Judge Advocate Holt. 

I wiite in great haste as I leave town in a few 
moments, and am truly yours, 

D. Morris. 

Letter from Brevet Colonel L C. Turner, 
judge advocate, on duty in Washingioii: 
War Depautmext, 
Washington City, September 10, 1866. 
Oeneral J. Holt, Juilye Advocate Otnerah 

General: I have tbe honor to acxnotvledge 
the receipt of your letter of the Sth instiut, in 
which you state : " A ba-e endeavor is being 
made through the disloyal press of the country, 
acting in the interests of Jefferson Davis and 
the rebellion, and in co-operation with Sanlord 
Conover, to impress the public mind with the 
belief that I. in some way, countenanced or was 
involved with Conover in the subornation of the 
witnesses produced by him before the Bureau of 
Military Justice, and whose testimony is now 
discredited as having been fabricated by him- 
self. 



14 



Ton also ttate : "A further impression is 
eongdt 10 be made, in utter disre{<ard of the 
facts, that the crime thus committed by Conover 
was DOC discovered by any atjency of mice, but 
in detipiie of endeavors on my part to prevent 
the exposure." 

And inafcmuchasi, your agent and aeiing 
under jcur directions, was connected wiih ex- 
posing and (disclosing ttie falsity of the testi- 
mony produced by Ct'uover and his snhdrnaiion 
of witutsses, you rtquett me to '"make a brief 
but distinct statement of all that occupied in 
countetion with this testimony, in aijy manner 
bearing on the atrocious calumnies against 
me," <fet;. 

In compliance with jour request I respectfully 
state: 

Tbit the 2Cih of April last jou informed me 
that certain persons had made deposiiinns be- 
fore the Bureau of Military Justice relative lo 
the alitgtd connection of Jeff. Davis, C- C. 
Clay, and others with the assassination of Prtsi- 
dei;t Lincoln; that the Judiciary Committei- of 
the Houie of Representatives were iuv;-i:i it;atiug 
the mailer, and you were unwilliug mat tne 
depositions should be received as iestimon> 
witn< ut being tested and veriiied by the persoual 
examination and cross-examination of tbe wit- 
nesses tiy the committee. 

You seemed anxious that the w.tnesses should 
be produced beiore the commuiae, and direcit-d 
and iiistrucied me to proceed to New York and 
Obtain their attendauce. 

You lurnished me with the names and prjba- 
ble whereabouts of tbe witnesses, viz: 

San ford Cpnovtr; post office address. Station 
A. New York. 

Joseph Snevil; post office address, Siation A, 
New York. 

William Campbell, Farnham B. Wright, and 
John .VfcGili, supposed to be in or about New 
York; Ji)hn fl. Fatten, supposed to be in St. 
Louie; Sarah Douglas and Mary Knapp, sup- 
posed to be in Canada. 

You advised that Wright should be sent to 
find Pai'.en, and Conover to go to Canada for 
the two women. Yoti sent a telegram to Snevil 
to ini.el me at the A.stor House tt2C rnornins^ of 
the 27th of April, and gave me a letier of intro- 
duction to Conover, of which ttie following i.s a 
true copy : 

" Wak Depautment, 
" buueau of mimtauy justice. 
" Wasuington, D. C, April 'M. 1SC6. 
"il/r. Sdtiford Conover: 

" DuAii Siu : Tbis will be prfseoted to you hy 
Colonel I'nrr.er, jiidge advocate, who will coin 
muuica'e wlfh you fully in ret^ard to the hii<-i- 
ness which takes him lo New York. The Judi- 
ciary Cominilteeof thellou^eof Representatives 
are anxious to secure, at as early a day as possi- 
ble, the attendance of the witness's named in a 
list In Colonel Turner's hands, and I wiiie to 
request that you will at once use all your tUorts 
to sicure that result. Yon jirobably k; ow the 
whereabouts of must of them, and through your 
personal exertions, aided by others, may surccd 
in bringing these wltneEses, or at least tb<' 
greatt^r part of them, before the committee. I 
Baw Mr. Wilson ihi.s morniug, whi read me 
your Ictlor, and it i" at his instaniu' iliMt I write 
you, having nodoiibt butlhalfroni Iht; liiforiHa- 
tlon you have, and your past faithfulness, you 
will be Duth able and wiUiog to do in tbe in- 



terest of truth and public jasiice what is now 
required of you. 
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
"J. Holt, 
"Judge Advocate General." 
And the sole object of said letter was my in- 
troduction to Conover, and have him aid iu pro- 
curing the witnesses before tbe committee. 

All the witnesses were unknown to me, and I 
was not befoie advised tha'. their depr>siiions 
had been taken, and there was no intimation 
that there was any suspicion entertained by any 
one that their testimony was not perK.-cily 
truthfjl and reliable. 

I arrived at the Astor House on tbe ojorniug 
of April 27th last, and after repeated delays and 
anntiyiiig difficulties ot)taiQrd interviews with 
Conover, Campbell, and Snevil, and a copy of 
my report in mis regard, made at your request, 
to the Judiciary Committee, is herewith en- 
closed. 

Through the disclosures of Campbell, and 
otherwise, I asceitained uiidoubtingly thht all 
the wiioesses procured by Conover bcfom the 
Bureau of Military Justice deposed under ficti- 
tious name?; that tUeir verified statements were 
false, and iaoricated by Conover, and that Cono- 
ver was the author of the atrocious scheme 
which resulted in such astounding perjuries and 
and subornations. 

Thursday, May 3, I returned to Washington, 
and Campbell accompanieo me. After report- 
ing to you, and your intervievv with Campbell, a 
telegram was sent at your instance to Conover, 
requesting his immediate attendance before the 
Judiciary Committee. 

Conover, having no suspicion that Campbell 
and myself were in Washington, came on at 
once, and, greatly to his surprise, he was con- 
fronted by Campbell in the Judiciary C immittee 
room, which was the result of an arrangement 
between you, Mr. Wilson, chairman of tbe Com 
mittee on the Judiciary, and myself. 

After Campbell had been examined Conover 
asserted that the statement of Campbell — that 
the testimony given oy him before the Bureau 
of Military Justice had been fabricated by him 
(Conover) — was fal.-.-, and the Judiciary Com- 
mittee permitted h\\\' to return to New York in 
charge of the Serg' .lui-at-Anns to procure the 
attendauce of the witnesses whose depositions 
had fjeen taken wi n those of Campbell, Suevil, 
and others. He i ft that officer on arriving at 
the Astor H ou.-- , and could not afterward be 
found . 

At your lustaico and under your directions I 
again went ti> New York. May 15, with Camp- 
bell and the S igeant-ai- Arms, to subpiBua the 
other witi.es'- f and procure their attendance 
before the Jn 'l^'iary Comaiiiti e. 

Snevil, MetTill, Wright, and Patten were 
found and t-u'>pii>jaed, aid I returned with 
Suivil to vVasbiiiijloii. Tfie others failed to 
appear. S'n-vil wns exainined by the cnmmiuee, 
and full) e.iiroborated Campbell as to the falsity 
and fatirie.ttion of the depotiiions. 

Again re'errlug you to the copy of my report 
to the Judiciary Committee, enclosed, which 
furiiislii b in gieater detail the action taken iiy 
me, Willie acting under your direction and in- 
ttructl itis, I beg leave to stale iu conclusion that 
in my j idgment the base calumnies with which 
" iruiiors, confessed perjurers, and suborners" 
are pursulog you are as preposterous as atro- 
cious, and will result in increasing Instead of 
lessening the enduring conlldeuce of all true- 



15 



hearted and honest- minded men in your emi- 
nent fidelity and faithfulness os a Governmenial 
officer, and your undoubted loyalty as a citizen. 
I ha?e the honor to be, very respectfully, your 
obedient servant, L. C Turner, 

Judge Advocate. 

War Department, 
WASniNGTON City, November 8, 1866. 
Oen. Joseph EoU, Judge Advocate General : 

General : I have the honor to say I deem it 
proper to inform you that within a few days, and 
since Sanford Conover's arrest, I have had seve- 
ral conversations with him, in the course of 
which 1 Drought to his notice and exhibited to 
him, as published, the various letters which first 
appeared in the New York Herald, and have 
since been copied into other papers, purporting 
to be from or to him, and intendeti by their 
statements and intimations to criminate your- 
self, and desired him to say what he knew in 
regard to them. The letters to which 1 refer 
may be described as follows, viz : one, signed 
"M,"' dated 17th April, 1S66, and addressed to 
said Conover; one bearing the signature of '"Wil- 
liam Campbtll," and addressed to Conover, 
under date of "St. Albans, Vt., November 19, 
1S65;" one signed "Carter," and addressed 
likewise to Conover, dated "Quartermaster's 
Offlcf, April 37, 1866;" one signed "Joseph 
Snevil," addressed to Conover, and dated "West- 
chester House, November 14, 1S65;" one signed 
'•3. Conover," addressed to Patten, and dated 
"Ephrata Mountain House, June 8, 1866;" and 
one dated "Philadelphia, December 13,1865," 
signed "S. Conover," and addressed to "Briaa- 
dier General Holt, Judge Advocate General," 
and proftssicgto have enclosed within it a letter 
to 6»id Conover from "M. N. Harris," dated 
"Harrisburg, December 11, 1865." 

Conover declared to me unhesitatingly and 
distiuctly that he had written no such letters 
to ycu as ihe foregoing, purporting to have been 
wriiten by bim to yourself; and, farther, he 
stated that he had not received from the parties 
above named, or either of them, any such letters 
as those above set forth, and which profess to 
have been written by said parties to said Con- 
over, and that he knew nothing in regard td 
them. While he thus, in effect, declared all 
these papers to be fabricated and false, he in- 
sisted that he did not know by whom -they had 
been manufttciured for publicaiioo. Several of 
these letters, as published, will be found set out 



fully in the depositions of Joseph Hoare and 
William H. Roberts, recently taken at my ofiice. 

Feeling some solicitude to know what motive 
could have prompted Conover to suborn the 
witnesses produced by him before the Bureau 
of Military Justice, I asked hira; and he replied, 
and requested me to state to you, that it was 
solely a desire to avenge himself on Jeff. Davis, 
by whose order, he said, he had been confined 
for some six months in Castle Thunder. He 
alleged that not only had he been thus mal- 
treated, but that his wife had also been insulted 
by Davis. He also assured me that the tesii 
mony he gave on the trial of the assassins of 
President Lincoln before the military commis- 
sion was true in evcy particular, and asserted, 
again and again, that Davis was connected with 
said assassination, and as to that there was no 
sort of question. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, jour 
obedient servant, L. C Turner, 

Brevet Colonel and Judge Advocate. 

War Department, 
Washington City, November 14, 1866. 

Sir: Tour letter of the 11th of SeptenaOer, 
applying for a court of inquiry upon certain im- 
putations therein mentioned as made against 
you, of official misconduct in relation to tba 
prosecution of Mrs. Surratt and others, charged 
with the assassination of the late PretiJent. 
Abraham Lincoln, and in the preparation of 
testimony against Jefferson Davis and others, 
charged with complicity in said crime has been 
submitted to the President, who deems it u!i- 
necessary for your vindication to order a court of 
inquiry. 

In communicating the President's decision, it 
is proper for me to express my own conviction 
that all charges and imputations against your 
official conduct and character are, in my judg- 
ment, entirely groundless. So far as I have any 
knowledge or information your official duties, as 
Judge Advocate General, in the cases referred to 
and in all others, have been performed fairly, 
justly, and with distinguished ability, integrity, 
and patriotism, and in strict conformity with the 
requirements of your high office and the obliga- 
tions of an rfflcer and a gentleman. 
Your obedient servant, 

Edwin M. Stanton, 

Secretary of War. 
Brevet Major General Joseph Holt, Judge 

Advocate General. 



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